1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to semiconductor devices, and, more particularly, to thermal ground planes used with semiconductor devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronics employing various semiconductor devices and integrated circuits are commonplace and are subjected to various environmental stresses. Applications of such electronics are extremely widespread, and utilize various different types of semiconductor materials.
Operating environments for electronic devices can be extremely harsh. Large temperature changes, gravitational forces, and shock resistance are required for electronic devices to perform their functions properly. Further, as semiconductor processing and materials have advanced, semiconductor capabilities and heat dissipation have also increased.
Typically, semiconductor devices and integrated circuits are thermally bonded to heat sinks to dissipate heat generated by the semiconductor devices during operation. There are various problems with such approaches, such as ensuring such assemblies can survive the environmental and structural requirements of the operating environment and ensuring that the overall weight and size of the heat sink/device assembly fits within the design envelope of the application. Further, materials used for the heat sink must not adversely affect the device, even though the materials are dissimilar in terms of thermal coefficients of expansion. Such differences usually lead to more complex heat sink designs that are more difficult to incorporate into the application for the semiconductor devices.
It can be seen, then, that there is a need in the art for cooling semiconductor devices.